Prince William enjoys England match with Crown Prince of Jordan on day one of Middle East tour.

Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge kicked off his five-day tour to the Middle East yesterday with a visit to Jordan. The second-in-line to the throne visited the Kingdom to meet with its Crown Prince before jetting off to Israel and Palestine later in the week.

One of the day’s highlights for the future King was enjoying the England Vs Panama World Cup Football match with Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan. Prince William, who is a keen footballer and football fan, can be seen enjoying the game in a tweet from Kensington Palace. The Duke begged photographers on his fight not to tell him the score ‘on the pain of death’, so that he could enjoy the match in full suspense later in the day.

Prince William couldn’t watch the @England match live and avoided finding out the score all afternoon. He sat down with the Crown Prince of Jordan to watch a rerun after dinner at the Beit Al Urdun Palace.

However, before William could settle down to the football, he had a busy schedule to attend. On arriving in Jordan, the Duke was welcomed by a Guard of Honour and The Crown Prince. Kensington Palace said the aim of the trip to Jordan, one of Britain’s closest friends in the Middle East, was to “build on the strong links that exist not only between the two countries, but also between their respective royal families.” Both Prince William, 36, and Crown Prince Hussein, 23, will one day be the Monarchs of their respective nations, and early bonding on a personal level is for obvious reasons, beneficial in the future.

After the official welcome, the Duke and The Crown Prince visited Fablab, an initiative of the Crown Prince Foundation which aims to equip young entrepreneurs with the technology they need to start their projects. At the event, he pressed a button to start a laser cutter which produced an Aston Villa designed cut-out, William remarked: “That’s familiar. Very good. You have done your research!” William was shown 3D printers, a drone, a robotic arm and other pieces of technology young people have created at the lab, and while speaking to young people, was surprised at their advanced knowledge of the English language.

“The welcome that The Crown Prince showed me today is one that I will always remember, and which I hope to be able to reciprocate one day in the UK.” – The Duke of Cambridge, in Jordan. pic.twitter.com/xlyIyestQx

In the evening, the Prince attended The Queen’s Birthday Party at the residence of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Jordan. At the event His Royal Highness made a speech, in which he said: “The ties between our Royal Families stretch back over generations. My grandmother, The Queen, and His Late Majesty King Hussein ascended to the throne exactly one month apart in 1952. The Queen to this day talks fondly of the special bond of friendship that existed between them. Your Royal Highnesses, I look forward to continuing to strengthen this bond between our Families in the years to come.”

He later added: “My wife Catherine is very sorry she cannot be here with me so soon after the birth of our son Louis, but her family remembers very fondly the almost three years she spent here as a child when her father worked for British Airways in Amman.”

The Duke concluded by reading a message by The Queen and by raising a toast to His Majesty The King of Jordan and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Prince Philip and I send our warmest good wishes to all of you attending the celebrations this evening.

We have fond memories of our State visit to Jordan in 1984, when we were able to explore the history of Petra and experience the charm and hospitality of Amman and Aqaba. I am delighted that 34 years later, The Duke of Cambridge will be able to experience the heartfelt welcome we received in Jordan for himself.

In 1984, I spoke of how, for me and my people, Jordan represented not only a country where legend and history meet, but also a staunch and long held friend. I am pleased to say that this remains the case to this day and our two kingdoms continue to work together in the spirit of friendship.

I hope you all have a most enjoyable evening.

Signed, Elizabeth R

Keep up to date with The Crown Chronicles, to learn about what the Duke got up to on day two of the Royal Visit!

I currently study Politics with International Relations at Aston University. I am very interested in current affairs and have a passion for our monarchy and British history. World War II is a very interesting area of study for me.
I strongly believe the United Kingdom benefits from a monarchy to protect the unwritten constitution that we have. I would class myself as a traditional person and I enjoy reading historical books.
Furthermore I enjoy flying as aviation is another passion of mine. I also enjoy to travel, especially when spending time in quintessential English villages.